A former U.S. senator from New Hampshire said Friday that National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden may be guilty of breaking laws, but he did the right thing.

Former U.S. Sen. Gordon Humphrey, R-N.H., wrote an email of support to Snowden. In his first interview since the email was made public, Humphrey said he stands by what he said and that outrage in the case is misplaced.

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"I think he's done a very great public service, exposing the fact that our government, contrary to earlier protestations, is in fact spying on us on a massive scale," Humphrey said.

Snowden is a former technical contractor for the NSA who leaked details of secret government surveillance programs to the public.

Humphrey said he's aware his email to Snowden raised eyebrows, but he waved off the suggestion that Snowden's actions put anyone in danger.

"I'm sure we don't know the full details yet on either side, but increasingly, I distrust our government," Humphrey said.

Pointing to the recent scandal in the IRS and the Justice Department's alleged seizure of media phone records, Humphrey said he can't understand why so much outrage is aimed at Snowden instead of the reason Snowden is a man now in search of a country.

"Where is the effort to determine the perpetrators of this massive violation of our constitutional rights?" Humphrey said. "Where's the effort to identify them and remove them from office and bring them before the bar of justice?"